Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a technique designed to remove material from semiconductor substrates. One approach is to use a chemical composition in conjunction with mechanical abrasion, a process that may involve application of the chemical onto the semiconductor, onto a polishing pad, or both. The function of the chemical and pad is to remove material from the substrate; a secondary function is to reduce surface roughness of the substrate. Often another chemical is used after the CMP process, a so-called post-CMP cleaning composition, to remove residual particles such as abrasive particles and substrate particles left on the semiconductor substrate after CMP. In use, some of the post-CMP chemicals have been found to actually increase surface roughness.
Although there are a number of post-CMP cleaning compositions and methods known in the art, there is a continuing desire for post-CMP cleaning compositions having desirable features.